Feb. 4, 2015

Jan. 30, 2015

Military officials say three American military contractors were killed in shooting in military area of Kabul's international airport; Afghan gunman was also killed. MORE

Jan. 16, 2015

Malaysian ship-supply contractor Leonard Glenn Francis pleads guilty to bribery and conspiracy charges as part of decade-long bribery case; plea follows admission by Navy Capt Daniel Dusek that he accepted prostitutes, trips and other gifts while assisting Francis in his scheme; Dusek becomes the fourth Navy official to admit to bribery in case, and the highest-ranking. MORE

Jan. 7, 2015

Navy commander Jose Luis Sanchez pleads guilty in federal court in San Diego to bribery and conspiracy in large scheme involving Asian military contractor. MORE

Aug. 13, 2014

Scott Miserendino, former contractor for the Military Sealift Command of the Navy, pleads guilty in federal court in Norfolk to accepting bribes. MORE

Jul. 16, 2014

Former Blackwater employees offer testimony in trial of their onetime colleagues standing trial for 2007 shooting that left 17 Iraqis dead. MORE

Jul. 11, 2014

Lockheed Martin and its suppliers Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems agree to invest up to $170 million of their own money to help lower high cost of new F-35 fighter jets. MORE

Jun. 30, 2014

Newly disclosed documents reveal that State Dept was aware of serious concerns about security contractor Blackwater prior to 2007 shooting in Baghdad that killed 17 civilians; American Embassy officials at time shut down investigation that revealed pattern of lawless behavior, including death threat to investigator himself; four Blackwater guards involved in shooting are currently on trial, government's second attempt at prosecution after previous charges were dismissed in 2009. MORE

Jun. 26, 2014

More than four dozen Iraqi citizens are scheduled to travel to Washington to testify against American guards working for Blackwater, who they say fired wildly on unarmed Iraqis in 2007, leaving 17 Iraqis dead; Justice Department says it will be the largest number of foreign witnesses to testify in a criminal trial. MORE

Jun. 6, 2014

Unit of Fokker Technologies of the Netherlands, leading aerospace company and Pentagon contractor, agrees to pay $21 million in penalties to settle accusations it repeatedly violated United States sanctions on sales of aircraft parts to Iran and Sudan. MORE

Mar. 19, 2014

Alex Wisidagama, former manager of Singapore-based company Glenn Defense Marine Asia, which is accused of defrauding Navy out of millions of dollars, pleads guilty in case. MORE

Feb. 17, 2014

Military contractors from Austria, Australia, Israel, United States and other countries showcase unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, throughout week at Singapore Airshow; contractors are hoping to make deals with militaries across Asia-Pacific region; drones themselves can cost several hundred thousand dollars, with high-end systems costing as much as $20 million. MORE

Feb. 14, 2014

State-owned military manufacturer Indonesian Aerospace will make prominent appearance at the Singapore Airshow in attempt to drum up new business; company has new sense of optimism after recovering from near-collapse during Asian financial crisis, and country's military budget has nearly quadrupled. MORE

Jan. 23, 2014

Justice Dept says US Investigations Services, company that conducted a background investigation on contractor Edward J Snowden, fraudulently signed off on hundreds of thousands of incomplete security checks and defrauded the government of millions of dollars. MORE

Dec. 20, 2013

Multinational Logistic Services, Navy’s largest ship supply company, places executive Akbar Khan on paid leave over questions about how he handled Navy contracts at another firm; move comes amid scandal that has already ensnared two ship supply companies in allegations of overbilling Navy. MORE

Dec. 13, 2013

Navy criminal investigator John B Beliveau II plans to plead guilty on to accepting bribes from a Malaysian contractor, representing the first conviction in a major ship-supply scandal. MORE

Dec. 10, 2013

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus is expanding internal review of the Navy's ship-supply contracts, new sign that overbilling practices discovered in the Pacific could be occurring worldwide. MORE

Dec. 10, 2013

European Aeronautic Defense and Space, parent company of Airbus, announces plans to cut 5,800 jobs from its military and space divisions over next three years as it responds to reductions in European military budgets driven by austerity measures; cuts represent about 5 percent of work force. MORE

Nov. 30, 2013

Scandal involving Navy's ship supply network, until now focused on Pacific Fleet, spreads to another contractor, Inchcape Shipping Services, working for Navy ships in waters off Middle East, Africa and South America; civil fraud investigation is another serious embarrassment for Navy, which is already dealing with investigation of Glenn Defense Marine Asia, its main ship supplier in the Pacific. MORE

Nov. 28, 2013

United States Navy suspends Dubai-based ship-supply company Inchcape Shipping Services for significantly overcharging on a contract, second such suspension since mid-September; action comes as Navy is grappling with criminal investigation of its main ship supplier in Pacific, whose owner Leonard Glenn Francis has been arrested on charges of conspiring to bribe Navy officials with prostitutes and gifts. MORE

Nov. 26, 2013

Leonard Glenn Francis, Singapore-based defense contractor accused of bribing United States Navy officials, is ordered held without bail, reversing earlier bail grant of $1 million. MORE

Nov. 25, 2013

South Korea's KFX, or Korea Fighter Experimental program to build fighter jets and develop self-reliant defense force, continues to face delays that have plagued program for last decade; costly procurement program has deep implications for South Korea's military industry and its relationship with United States arms manufacturers, and country may have to decide soon whether or not to scrap it. MORE

Nov. 22, 2013

Navy suspends Capt David W Haas, naming him as the seventh official linked to a criminal investigation of ship-supply contracts in the Pacific. MORE

Nov. 21, 2013

Evidence shows that several ship crews and contracting officials filed complaints about wealthy Malaysian contractor Leonard Glenn Francis well before United States Navy awarded him $200 million in contracts; Francis is now at the center of widening investigation into bribery and overbilling scheme. MORE

Nov. 13, 2013

American investigators have uncovered new case casting doubt on the military's ability to weed out suspicious contractors who have ties to insurgents in Afghanistan; case centers on hiring of Zurmat Group, Afghan company that was paid to do work at an American-controlled facility, despite having been blacklisted for providing bomb-making materials to insurgents. MORE

Sep. 1, 2013

Many Afghans who have been banned from doing work for United States government over allegations of extortion, racketeering, bribery or criminal tax evasion have paid top dollar to lawyers from prestigious American law firms in hopes of keeping their good names, their revenue streams and, potentially, their freedom; they see expensive legal counsel as part of price of doing business. MORE

Aug. 29, 2013

Government lawyers have asked the private equity firm headed by the prominent financier Lynn Tilton for information related to its recent hiring of a former Army official. MORE

Jul. 29, 2013

Bidding process for new presidential Marine One helicopter, as well as other contract troubles, suggests goal of creating sharper competition with government contracts is hard to achieve; only one company, Sikorsky Aircraft, is expected to bid on multibillion-dollar contract, with rivals complaining that bid specifications are driving away potential competitors. MORE

Jun. 17, 2013

Three of Europe's top military contractors urge region's governments to support joint program to develop reconnaissance drone to reduce dependence on American and Israeli manufacturers; proposal is joint effort of EADS, Dassault Aviation and Finmeccanica. MORE

Jun. 16, 2013

Mike McConnell, former head of National Security Agency and now chief architect of Booz Allen Hamilton's cyberstrategy, is among executives facing tough questions after leak by contractor Edward J Snowden; results of inquiry could be disastrous for company that had one of best business plans in Washington, DC, with more than half of its annual revenue coming from military and intelligence agencies. MORE

Jun. 14, 2013

Sen Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, says Congress will consider legislation to sharply limit the access that private contractors have to the nation’s most sensitive intelligence programs. MORE

Jun. 11, 2013

Nonprofit group Transparency International steps up its campaign to reduce corruption in military industry; group releases report detailing how military contractors and governments fail to create better safeguards, and how they could improve. MORE

Jun. 7, 2013

Nation's largest military contractors, facing federal budget cuts and withdrawals from two wars, are competing for $4.5 billion expected to be spent to secure the border with Mexico if an immigration bill passes Congress; lobbyists are pressing Homeland Security Department officials and lawmakers on behalf of their clients. MORE

Jan. 9, 2013

American contractor hired by military to provide translation services for interrogators at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq has reached $5 million settlement with scores of detainees who accused its employees of complicity in abusing them; settlement is first known instance of American contractor making payment over abuse of prisoners in Iraq war. MORE

Dec. 1, 2012

Pentagon and Lockheed Martin reach agreement in principle for 32 F-35 fighter jets after a tense year of negotiations over how to lower costs; military officials say they will pay about $3.8 billion for 32 of the next generation radar-evading planes and additional equipment to manufacture and test them. MORE

Sep. 23, 2012

George Allen, Virginia’s Republican nominee for Senate, has made opposition to the Budget Control Act, which includes automatic reductions in military spending, his campaign’s centerpiece; defense contractors make up a substantial chunk of the state's economy, and many are supporting Allen, who is in possibly the closest Senate race in the country with Democratic opponent Tim Kaine. (Series: New Dominion) MORE

May. 19, 2012

Army has bought about $5.6 million worth of $17,000 'leakproof' drip pans from Kentucky company Phoenix Products, foregoing competing product that costs only $2,500; company gained contract after Kentucky Rep Harold Rogers added an earmark to a 2009 spending bill; contract testifies to the enduring power of earmarks, despite several efforts in Congress to rein them in. MORE

Feb. 12, 2012

For the first time during the Afghan war more civilian contractors employed by American companies died in Afghanistan in 2011 than American soldiers; rise in contractors' deaths reflects how military jobs have increasingly been shifted to the private sector; American employers are under no obligation to publicly report the deaths of their employees, and many of the survivors are left uncompensated. MORE

Jan. 27, 2012

Pentagon announces that it will cancel orders for a surveillance drone, delay work on a new missile submarine, and draw out purchase of 179 F-35 fighters as part of its latest round of budget tightening; other cuts are spread out among the major military contractors, though some reductions will be offset by spending increases on other objectives. MORE

Nov. 13, 2011

Gretchen Morgenson Fair Game column contends one way to cut government spending is to stop reimbursing defense contractors for the cost of pensions and other retirement benefits; maintains over 10 years, such a move could save estimated $30 billion; contends this practice is not only quaint, it is an outlier. MORE